ELMWOOD — Elmwood/Plum City girls basketball had Spring Valley on the ropes, playing scrappy defense and securing second-chance points all night. The Cardinals took flight in the final minutes …
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ELMWOOD — Elmwood/Plum City girls basketball had Spring Valley on the ropes, playing scrappy defense and securing second-chance points all night. The Cardinals took flight in the final minutes after the press they had been running all game started to wear down the Wolves.
Spring Valley went on an 11-0 run late to win 50-37 on the road on Monday, Jan. 27.
“They’re a good team, they’re just young and inexperienced just like us,” Spring Valley Head Coach Sean Hoolihan said of EPC. “They’re athletic, they play good defense. They were playing well. They’re a lot like us in the sense that they struggle sometimes taking care of the basketball.”
Hoolihan said while he was not sure of the exact turnover margin on the game, he felt the Cardinals had a few less, making the difference in the lead prior to the late run.
“I think the press got to them a little bit,” Hoolihan said. “Our girls were drained tired too, but that mental part of the press is kind of what wears on teams. A lot of people outside of basketball don’t understand that it’s not necessarily are we getting steals?”
It is the mental challenge and wear and tear of the press, and if the team is not allowing easy baskets off of it that matters to Hoolihan. The effect the press can have showed in the final minutes, allowing that 11-0 Cardinal run in the final minutes.
Hoolihan said while there is a rivalry between the two schools, it is a friendly one, and when the game is over, there are still going to be connections between the schools. Despite that, the win is one that always feels good for either team.
“I’m friends with the superintendent here, I’m friends with the principal, their kids… but I love beating [EPC],” Hoolihan said. “It’s a good rivalry though. There’s not dirty play, there’s not me saying bad stuff about their kids. It’s a good rivalry and I hope it stays that way.”
The win improved Spring Valley to 8-9 overall and 3-5 in conference. Hoolihan said the year has been a fun one with the young roster getting the hang of the game at the varsity-level. One thing that still has not worked itself out through the experience is limiting the turnovers.
“It’s like a broken record, we’ve got to stop turning the ball over,” Hoolihan said. “We go spurts where we’re really good at taking care of the basketball, making good passes, good catches, and then all of a sudden we go through these spells where it’s like, do you know what color jersey we’re in tonight and why are you making that pass.”
Addressing the turnover problems has been in the blueprints for the Cardinals since the offseason; Hoolihan said it just has not quite been perfected yet.
For Spring Valley, it was freshman Jada Hoolihan and senior Audrey Mathison leading the way with 15 points apiece, and freshman Katie Matthys following with 11.
EPC has shown signs of life and improvement despite the 1-14 start to the year. The Wolves are finding themselves in more and more competitive games each night.
“They’re applying what we’re working on in practice, so that was a really good sight,” EPC Head Coach Adrian Hook said. “Our speed was on display, I mean we have some girls that can really get to the hoop and everything. But we just kind of ran out of gas a little bit there and the avalanche happens, we just gotta stop it.”
The defense EPC has been practicing was executed well in the first half according to Hook, part of the reason for the game being such a battle.
While the final minutes were a different story, EPC navigated the press well for the majority of the game. The guards were staying calm, turning up the court to find open players down court.
“It’s a similar press that both Mondovi and Durand have run against us,” Hook said. “The girls were disciplined with it tonight and did a really good job, and they didn’t panic when they got the ball in the frontcourt.”
Guards freshman Polly Webb and sophomore Allison Sauve were a major part of the reason for the navigation. Sauve also finished with 10 points on the night, pushing coast-to-coast with ease at times.
Inside the paint it was junior Ellison Maxwell in full control, snatching rebounds and making nice reads of the backboard to get involved in nearly every scrum for a loose ball. Maxwell finished the night with seven points.
“She was actually kind of our first captain of the year. She’s a leader of the girls with both schools in our co-operative. All the girls love her and she keeps it light,” Hook said. “She’s a physical girl, and slowly, she’s gained confidence as well.
“If you were to watch the game film, our team loses it when she does something because we all love her so much,” Hook said.